The Kano Government has sacked all Permanent Secretaries in the state, in line with the present government’s reformation resolve.

This is according to a statement from the Head of Civil Service on Thursday. According to the statement, the decision is in line with the Kano Government’s decision to “Vigorously pursue/implement the reform initiative embarked upon since its inception”.

Stanbic IBTC Group has announced the renewal of its sponsorship of the Higher Institutions Football League (HiFL), which was established last year. The renewal, which will run for five years, till 2023, was announced at the sponsorship MoU signing ceremony held at Stanbic IBTC head offices in Lagos. Stanbic IBTC said the sponsorship is in tandem with the company’s determination to help grow and develop a vibrant and productive youth population.

Stanbic IBTC said its involvement is informed by the need to engage the youth and help foster unity among them as the future leaders using sports, a major passion point for that segment, as a platform.

Head, Global Markets, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Sam Ocheho, who signed on behalf of Stanbic IBTC, said the financial institution was very impressed with the organization of the maiden edition of the league hence the renewal. “We were very impressed with the organisation of the league last year. We saw great promise and are proud to have been a part of the success story. That is why we have decided to continue with the sponsorship,” Ocheho said.

“We want to be there for the long haul and we remain determined to contribute to the growth and development of the youth through the development of campus sport, with football as the lynchpin,” he added. According to Ocheho, it is expected that Stanbic IBTC’s involvement will also help in talent-moulding and character-building.

Responding, Director, PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing, owners of the HiFL franchise, Sola Fijabi, thanked Stanbic IBTC and its leadership team for the sponsorship of the league in 2018 and the renewal for 2019 and beyond. According to Fijabi, Stanbic IBTC showed great leadership and a passion for youth development when it supported the league last year, a new and untested initiative. “We want to thank Stanbic IBTC and its leadership for showing faith in us. It is very unusual to start something new and have a global brand willing to support it. Stanbic IBTC’s support, which it has reiterated through this sponsorship renewal, merely showed its passion for the youth,” Fijabi said.

The director said Stanbic IBTC’s sponsorship is invaluable to the success of the varsity league. He assured that this year’s league is going to be a great improvement on the maiden edition and that PACE Sports and Entertainment Marketing will not disappoint its sponsors, particularly Stanbic IBTC.

The maiden edition of the league, which was won by the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, featured 16 universities from across the country.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC is a full service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Stanbic IBTC belongs to the Standard Bank Group, the largest African financial institution by assets and market capitalization. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 20 countries on the African continent. Standard Bank has been in operation for 155 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services institutions in chosen countries in Africa; and connecting selected emerging markets to Africa by applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, power and infrastructure.

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has said the Independent National Electoral Commission lacks the power to withhold his certificate of return. Okorocha was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the February 23 Imo West senatorial election.

In his petition to INEC on Tuesday, Okorocha said he was not happy that the body decided to withhold his certificate of return after he was announced as the winner of the election.
But INEC claimed the declaration was made under duress.

The petition titled, ‘Need to Avert Abuse of Office and Political Corruption by my Political Opponents with the Active Collaboration of INEC’s Leadership in Clear Violation of the Law,’ was addressed to the Chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu.

The governor said going by the laws governing elections in the country, INEC had no right not to issue him a certificate of return.

He added that if there were issues with an election after the announcement of a winner, the Election Petitions Tribunal would resolve them.

Okorocha said, “Section 285(1) of the 1999 Constitution states that ‘There shall be established for the Federation one or more election tribunals to be known as the National Assembly Elections Tribunal which shall, to the exclusion of any court or tribunal, have original jurisdiction to hear and determine petitions as to whether (a) any person has been validly elected as a member of the National Assembly.’

“Section 133 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides that ‘No election and return at an election under this Act shall be questioned in a manner other than by a petition complaining of an undue election or an undue return presented to the competent tribunal or court in accordance with the provisions of the constitution or of this Act, and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.’

“Where then did INEC derive the power to withhold a certificate of return after a winner in an election had been announced?”

INEC Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said since Okorocha had gone to court over the issue, he should allow it to make a pronouncement on his certificate of return.

He said, “The case is in court. He is the one that took us to court. He should, therefore, wait for the court to determine the case.”

Nigerian Workers joy knew no bound in some states yesterday as they got assurances of payment of the N30,000 minimum wage from governors.

At rallies to mark the May Day, Edo, Adamawa, Ondo, Cross River, Zamfara, Oyo, Ebonyi, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Anambra governors said they would pay the wage.

Outgoing Governors Mohammed Bindow (Adamawa), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) pledged to begin implementation of the pay before they go on May 29.
But Governor Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) said they were awaiting the National Income and Wages Commission (NIWC) to release modalities for the wages implementation.

In Calabar, Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade paid May salary to mark the day. But Labout protested, saying it was too early to do so.

The May Day was celebrated with fanfare across the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where Vice President Yemi Osinbajo took the workers’ salute on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Leading pay-television provider MultiChoice Nigeria, has announced its sponsorship of the 2019 Sickle Cell Genetic Counseling workshop, organised by the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN). The workshop, which began on 29 April and ends on 10 May, will hold at the National Sickle Cell Centre, Idi Araba in Lagos.

The workshop is aimed at raising awareness about and deepening understanding of the Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD) as well as pointing out ways that SCD victims could lead normal lives.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of Sickle Cell Foundation, Nigeria, Prof. Olu Akinyanju commended MultiChoice for supporting the Foundation for so many years and sponsoring the 18th edition of genetic counseling workshop. He also appealed to other corporate bodies to emulate the kind gesture of MultiChoice Nigeria.

MultiChoice Nigeria’s sponsorship of the workshop is in continuation of its support for the management and treatment of SCD in Nigeria, which is spearheaded by the SCFN. Conscious of the importance of awareness and research to the control of SCD, MultiChoice Nigeria, in 2009, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SCFN.

The partnership officially made the control of SCD in the country a key Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) undertaking by MultiChoice Nigeria. Since then, MultiChoice Nigeria has supported the SCFN in a variety of ways, notably in supporting increased awareness about the disorder via documentaries covering key facts on SCD, which was broadcast across its DStv platform and other free to air channels in the country. MultiChoice Nigeria equally assisted the SCFN to generate funds for its activities through the placement of donation boxes in all its branches across the country, with collated funds sent to the SCFN account.

Explaining the sponsorship of the Sickle Cell Genetic Counseling Workshop, Chief Executive Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe said MultiChoice Nigeria is an organization that promotes values and views its support for the workshop as well as other contributions to the fight against SCD as part of its propagation of strong family values.

“As an organization that promotes family values we cannot but contribute to the fight against Sickle Cell Disorder in Nigeria. We will continue to support this fight in partnership with the SCFN. From time to time, we have been supporting the SCFN in many ways, including the development of awareness materials, fundraising through donation boxes at our offices and donation of vehicles for its operations,” said Ugbe.

The leader of traders in Lagos and Iyaloja General, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, has said that some traders in the Computer village market who protested against the appointment of Iyaloja and Babaloja in the market on Tuesday were ill-informed.

Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, Tinubu-Ojo said all the markets in the state were under her control and the computer village market cannot be an exception.
According to our constitution, I can choose anybody from any local government in the state to head the market, all the iyaloja and babaloja in all the Lagos markets are my representatives in the market where they operate. Kindly educate them that phones, handsets, computers are commodities.

“They cannot tell us they are not pepper sellers, everybody cannot be textile dealers; they can’t tell us that computer village will be exonerated (sic) from other markets. We have the right to choose for them Iyaloja and Babaloja.

“Those people protesting never approached me to complain. They don’t have the initiative that the person leading the protest has finished his tenure and wants to remain in power…

“Computer village is not just an ICT hub, there are a lot of commodities being sold there; nobody can say it is wrong to select a babaloja and iyaloja for the market. Those that have been selected were not selected because they are Yoruba, in some of our markets in Lagos we have Igbos that were selected as market leaders,” Tinubu-Ojo said.

She said the appointment of Mrs Abisola Azeez and Mr Adeniyi Babalola, as Iyaloja and Babaloja of Computer Village respectively was done to maintain peace in the market among the traders.

A Nigerian, Ernest Ezeajughi, has made history by winning election as the first Black Mayor of the London Borough of Brent, United Kingdom.

Ezeajughi, a native of Anambra State, was elected Mayor on April 16, by the College of Councillors of Brent, London, and was sworn into office yesterday, Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
Prior to his election as Mayor, Ezeajughi, a strong member of the Labour Party, won election for a Councillor position representing Stonebridge ward at Brent Council in 2014.

He was re-elected again in 2018, retaining his seat all in the white-dominated political environment after a very keenly contested election. He was elected Deputy Mayor of Brent within a year.

After graduation in 1998 and completion of his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), he worked briefly in the private family business – Koval Linkworld Agencies Ltd – before migrating to England to join his wife.

In England, Ezeajughi obtained a Master’s degree in Science (M.Sc) from the prestigious Kings College, London. A Scientist by profession, he worked with Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

A father of four children, Ezeajughi was one of the founding fathers of a major Nigerian political party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) UK Chapter and was the Chairman in 2010-2012.

He thereafter joined UK politics and soon became a strong member of the Labour Party.

Years after it was privatised, the power sector has failed to deliver the desired result, the Federal Government said yesterday.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who delivered the verdict, spoke of other options to re-engineer the sector for effective power supply to meet domestic and industrial needs of Nigerians. He was not specific on the options.

Prof Osinbajo laid it bare in his May Day address to workers at the Eagle Square in Abuja. He said the government was not happy that several years after the sector was privatised, it has failed to deliver.

The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) Plc. was unbundled in 2013 during the administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. It was to allow for private sector involvement in the generation and distribution of power.

The vice president, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, said the government was “strongly committed to changing the narratives” in the power sector.

He said: “Today, that sector, after it was privatised, still remains stalled in delivering power to many Nigerian homes and businesses.

“We must act as a matter of national importance and we are committed to doing so, to work and re-engineer the sector for much more effective performance. Workers shall be called upon to play a greater role in supporting the government to attain all these goals.”

Osinbajo, who also told the workers that the new minimum wage would be fully implemented by the Buhari administration, however, expressed concern over incessant strikes by workers as a means of resolving industrial disputes.

He said the nation was losing so much in terms of resources and manpower to job boycotts.

The vice president said: “Industrial peace is central to economic stability. Every industrial disruption cost the national economy very dearly in terms of money and manpower that are lost.

“It is for this reason that I urged all actors in the industrial relations system to be circumspect and ethical in the use of industrial action as tools for resolving work place crisis. Industrial actions, because of the huge economic and social cost, should be the last and not the first option for resolving disputes.”

Osinbajo, who was silent on the crisis between Labour & Employment Minister Chris Ngige and organised Labour over the change in the chairmanship of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), however, assured workers that President Buhari will reciprocate the renewed mandate given to him by the electorate by ensuring prompt delivery on his electoral promises.

He said: “At the just concluded general elections, Nigerians and indeed Nigerian workers gave our administration another mandate to govern them. We shall reciprocate this electoral gesture by focusing on the critical issues that will advance and improve the quality of the lives and livelihood of Nigerians.

“These include the building of infrastructure, such as roads, rail, hydroelectricity and revaluing all sectors of the national economy in order to put our country on the path of a sustainable economic growth and prosperity.”

Osinbajo said the Buhari administration remained strongly committed to the goals of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) movement, adding that “on assumption of office in 2015, in spite of daunting economic challenges which confronted us at the time, we ensured that no worker was retrenched across the country.

“We followed this commitment by providing bailout funds for states that were unable to pay salaries at that time in order to pay their accumulated arrears. He also released Paris Club refund owed since 2005 to make sure that workers were not owed anything.

“We also ensure the payment of outstanding benefits of retrenched workers. Retrenched Nigeria Airways workers who were owed for decades were paid. We also ensured that the Pensions Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) also paid arrears owed to parastatals, civil servants pensioners covering about 101, 393 civil service pensioners in all grade levels and 76,310 parastatal pensioners across 186 ministries, departments and agencies. This is in addition to the arrears that were paid to officers of the Police, Customs and Immigration.

“The administration also settled pension issues of the Armed Forces and paramilitary personnel who were dismissed as a result of their participation in the civil war. All these veterans have now been paid their outstanding benefits.

“Our Social Investment Programme (SIP) is the largest of its kind in Africa and it is directed at ensuring that we are able to provide opportunity in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy. The largest numbers of workers are in the informal sector. These comrades of ours deserve the protection of our labour laws.

“The choice of the theme for this May Day is not just a headline… we truly believe that Nigerian citizens, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid, must be the central focus of all economic planning and budgeting.

“The welfare and wellbeing of all these Nigerians, who work every day, rendering services, is the true benchmark of our commitment as a government and as a people who believe in social justice and the dignity of all Nigerians. We will continue to commit ourselves to the course of improving the lot of all Nigerians by providing for those who cannot work.

“In line with that, the new national minimum wage, which Mr. President signed into law a few days ago, shall be fully implemented by the current administration. Let me again express my deep appreciation to the leadership of Nigerian workers for the understanding and maturity shown during and after the negotiation for the new minimum wage.

“We shall continue to provide the enabling environment for higher productivity as well as industrial peace and harmony as well as a congenial atmosphere for collective bargaining among trade unions and their employers while also protecting the fundamental right and all other rights of Nigerian people and people at work.”

On the celebration of Workers’ Day, the vice president said: “This Year’s International Workers Day, otherwise known as the May Day, is coming on the heels of the centenary celebration of the ILO. These two events have far reaching significance for workers in particular and for the world of work in general.

“One defines and regulates the world of work through the international labour standard and the other establishes the protection of the fundamental rights and dignity of the working people. These events have over the years defined employment relations globally.

“Another uniqueness of this year’s international labour celebration is that the ILO, as part of its arrangement towards the celebration of its centenary, gave member states the opportunity to select their country’s themes in the spirit of the centenary.

“It is in recognition of this that our country chooses the theme for this year’s May Day celebration as ‘Another 100 years of struggle for jobs, dignity and social justice in Nigeria’.

“You may recall that at the attainment of independence, we became a member of the ILO. The early decision to join the ILO was predicated on the strong conviction that the ILO and its labour standards formulated since its inception are aimed at promoting decent and productive work under the condition of freedom, equity, security and dignity and building a virile workforce which our country needed for socio-economic development.

“It is for this reason that the centenary celebration of the ILO is sentimental to us as a nation and for workers. It is important for me to state here that the ILO has over the years supported our country in the development and implementation of labour related policies.

“Recently, the ILO collaborated with Nigeria in its affirmation as a pathfinder country on the elimination of child labour, false labour, modern slavery and human trafficking. Pathfinder countries are pioneer countries who have decided to pool resources together and channel the same towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We shall ask and request the ILO to further support those ILO conventions on Labour legislations and policies that govern employment and employment relations and good conduct as well as industrial relations in general.

“I am optimistic that we shall continue to leverage on this collaboration to further strenghten our legislation in consonance with international best practices and foster stronger ties among social partners in the coming years.

“I am also convinced that the selection of the theme shows the level of our collective commitment to job creation, the protection of the rights of workers, their dignity and also promote social justice in our country as contained in the various provision of our constitution. Today’s event will provide us the opportunity to reflect on our commitment to these goals.

“As we join others in celebrating the 2019 international Workers’ Day, and the centenary celebration of the ILO, let me commend your resilience, tenacity and sacrifice as well as commitment in standing up against every form of oppression, exploitation, unfair labour practices and injustices as well as the violation of the fundamental rights of the working people of this country and the world over.

“I also thank you for the support you gave our administration in its first tenure and I seek for further support and cooperation of all our working people to help build a country where our young people will be gainfully employed, there will be security of work and tenure for them and they will be ensured of the protection of their fundamental rights.” (The Nation)

Abiola Orimolade, who is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, made a life-changing decision in 2017 to leave the shores of his country in pursuit of further education in a country he was uncertain about.

He was admitted in Spring 2018 into the MBA programme at Sul Ross State University in the United States, an institution recently listed by Niche as one of the best public universities in Texas.
Abiola’s major desire was to acquire in-depth training in Business and Management, in order to help take his emerging start-up brands, BlackNBold Fashion House and the Nigerian Student Fashion and Design Week to the next level. The Nigerian Student Fashion And Design Week which he founded in 2013 is the first visible fashion showcase platform for discovering new fashion talents in Nigeria; the event in its 7th edition has promoted over 300 emerging fashion brands and just last year, he collaborated with African Fashion Week Houston by bringing one of the prize winners from his NSFDW event to showcase in Houston. He was recognised in the UK in 2017 as one of the top five fashion promoters in Nigeria.

He is the only International student amongst the 13 inductees who were inducted on the 29th of April 2019 into the Delta Mu Delta honorary society, making him the second Nigerian in the history of the University to be inducted into the prestigious society.

Delta Mu Delta is an international honour society that recognises academic excellence in Baccalaureate, Master’s, and Doctorate degree Business Administration programmes at Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programmes (ACBSP)-accredited schools. It was founded November 18, 1913 by the Dean from Harvard University and four professors from Yale University and New York University.

Later that night, Abiola was also recognised during the honours convocation for being the most outstanding MBA student at the university with a 4.0 GPA setting a whole new record as an international student in the university.

Lagos State government on Wednesday launched the new buses under the Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) with free service on five routes, with 820 buses out of the 5,000 high and medium capacity buses planned for the initiative to be immediately deployed for the project.

According to the state government, the free service was launched across five routes, including Berger to Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Berger to Oshodi, Oshodi to TBS, Ikeja to Alausa and Ikeja to Oshodi to commemorate the Workers Days, while normal service is expected to start on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

￼Operator of the buses, Mr Timi Olajide, made this known while speaking at Ikeja Bus Terminal, one of the modern terminals constructed as part of the BRI, saying it was a good thing that the buses had now been finally launched for the use of the people, even as he assured that the development would redefine public transportation and make the state globally competitive.

“In each of the buses, we have six emergency exits and First Aid Box, while every seat has a dedicated USB port for charging of phones, free Wi-fi, television and CCTV cameras which are linked to our control centre to monitor everything going on in the buses, among other features.

￼“We have also taken the issue of people with disabilities specially and there are seats reserved for them in the buses,” he said.

A cross section of Lagos residents at Oshodi Transport Interchange, and who happened to enjoy the free service, lauded the state government especially Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the buses and the infrastructure provided to support the transport reforms, saying the development was commendable.

￼According to Emmanuel: “I am very happy to enter this bus today because it is a thing of joy that something like this can happen in Nigeria. I am happy that I can enter a beautiful bus with free Wi-Fi, free USB port, free air-conditioning and so on.

“With this, I know that this country is going to greater heights. One thing I believe we should do is to work together, love ourselves and before we know it, Nigeria will be one of the best countries in the world.”

￼Aleshinloye described the initiative as a lovely idea, saying he wanted the development to be sustained.